


Like A Miracle

by orphan_account



Series: Brighton B&B [2]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Beach Vacation, F/F, Fluff, GM Georgia, Second honeymoon, established relationships - Freeform, nhl jack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-30 02:22:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11453970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Georgia has been looking forward to this for a while.  Her busy life means she doesn't see her wife as often as she wants, so she feels like they've earnt this little second honeymoon.





	Like A Miracle

**Author's Note:**

> Writing the first part of this story with Zimbits just made me want to write the Georgia and her wife prequel. So I did. This is basically just fluff and holidays going wrong (and right).

Just when I think I can't find some peace of mind...  
Love - love comes...  
Love comes...  
Let it in...  
Annie Lennox-

***

Georgia couldn’t think of a single reason she disliked any aspect of her life. Yes, she wasn’t really playing a lot of hockey anymore, and yes, she was constantly confronted about the unfairness when it came to women and the sport world. Nothing enraged her more to hear about the frankly absurd pay gaps, or the constant claims that it was like that because men were inherently _better_ at the sport.

She had first hand proof she could beat half her own team’s top scorers in a one-on-one, and she was fairly sure she was capable of taking any check any of them wanted to dish out.

So yeah, that part got her…worked up.

But she also loved her team beyond reason. She was lucky, she supposed, in that way. How she’d been clawing her way into a GM position, and she could have been stuck with anyone. Terrible owners, terrible teammates, some state like Texas who were too terrified to even attempt to use rainbow tape for charity.

Instead she was given the Falcs. She was given one of the nicest owners in hockey’s history, and a team full of men who not only loved and supported each other, but when their first-ever teammate came out to the public, they went to bat for him at every turn. It made it a lot easier for her to wear her wedding ring to work, to not shy away from saying, “My wife,” instead of, “my significant other,” out of fear of losing her job, her respect, or her safety.

It was nice for her and Aya to be invited to team BBQs or family skates and not have to pretend they were just “friends” or “roommates”.

And it was additionally nice to know that when Jack finally felt comfortable talking about things, her office had become a safe space for him, too. When his relationship was going strong, when it was falling apart, he never hesitated. And that’s what made it worth it.

Her amazing job, her wonderful teammates, and her beautiful wife she hoped she would never, ever take for granted.

It’s why she booked the trip that Bye Week. It had been a spur of the moment thing, but her brother had sent her the info on his timeshare which was free for the entire week they were off, and four days in some scenic, coastal English village by the sea sounded like…

Maybe not heaven, but close. She and Aya were due a honeymoon anyway. A second one, maybe, but it was hard to count the three days they spent in Florida trying to scrape together as much quiet time as they could with each other before real life dragged them, kicking and screaming, into the mess of playoffs and book deadlines and family nonsense.

So yeah. They’d earnt this. More than they’d ever earnt anything before.

*** 

“Hey,” Georgia said, dropping her keys on the counter and dipping her head into Aya’s neck to press a kiss there. She pushed Aya’s thick plait over her left shoulder, then wrapped her arms round her middle, plastering up against her back so she could kiss a little longer and not disrupt whatever Aya had going on in the frying pan. “How was your day?”

“Longest ever. Chad was being a dick again about the deadline but…” She sighed and leant back into George’s arms. “It’s over, and you’re home. How was your day?”

“Better than yours, I think,” Georgia said with a tiny laugh. She tucked Aya in a little closer, and breathed in the smell of her. Stale coffee from her office, and a melange of perfumes and colognes from co-workers, and her own, unique scent that Georgia had come to recognise as home, and safety, and love. She let her chin fall on Aya’s shoulder, and after a long moment said, “I have a surprise for you.”

“Oh yeah?” Aya asked, and gave the veg one last stir before turning her head for a proper kiss. It was drawn out, long, the brush of tongue, soft lips in a push-pull dance somewhere between want and need. When Georgia pulled back, Aya sighed and said, “What’s the surprise? Or am I meant to guess?”

Georgia snorted. “You’re the worst at guessing games.” Her hands dropped to Aya’s hips, and she turned her, easing her away from the burning hob and into the edge of the cold, granite counter. “I’ve booked us a trip.”

Aya blinked at her. “A…trip.”

“Bye week,” Georgia said, as though that explained everything. When Aya continued to frown, she said, “Gabriel is giving us his timeshare in England. That little coastal place…I forget the name of it, but we have it for four days. So I booked the tickets and got everything situated. You…do have the time off, right?”

Aya stared for a moment, letting Georgia stew before her face broke out into a huge grin. “I can’t believe it. You know I’ve been dying to get away.”

Georgia couldn’t help returning the smile, giving Aya a playful shove before tugging her back in for another kiss. “I know,” she said, right up against her mouth. “Which is exactly why we’re going.”

*** 

Georgia dealt with one media melt down from a certain Aces Captain who seemed to be trying to get under Jack’s skin, and then said goodbye to his team before heading off. She worried, of course. Things looked like they were heading for a fantastic explosion where Jack was concerned, but he’d assured her he was off to Montreal to see his parents instead of Vegas, and he was taking some time to think.

Georgia didn’t entirely believe him, but it was her duty to let herself forget as much as humanly possible during the holiday. She owed this to Aya. She owed her everything, and getting to make her happy—see her smile and go alight in a way Georgia hadn’t seen in years from all the work and life stress—it was everything. They spent half the night packing, then the other half at the all night shop buying toiletries, and beach towels, and random, cheap outfits for lounging by the water.

The excitement was palpable, keeping them from getting any proper rest, but it was worth it. They boarded the plane, and prepared for the flight, and before she really knew it, they were landing across the ocean.

Georgia didn’t entirely know what to expect from Brighton, or from the timeshare Gabriel insisted was great. “I haven’t been in years,” he told her two nights before. “But Cecilia and I were there for our five year and it was great. No one bothers you, and there’s plenty to do. And plenty not to do, you know? All you have to do when you’re done is make sure you clear out all the food and shit. Otherwise they send a cleaning service after so don’t stress about that.”

Georgia felt like years had lifted off her shoulders, like Hercules holding the world for Atlas. It was temporary, but she was going to appreciate the hell out of the reprieve. The uber pulled in front of the cottage, which was near enough to the sea she could smell it on the air, and she took her wife’s hand as they eased out of the back seat.

Every muscle in her body was stiff, but the sea air was refreshing, a bite of rain, and a chill, but she felt more awake than she had in days. They took their time walking up the stone pathway, and she fished the key out of her pocket before turning to Aya and cupping her cheek, using her other hand to brush back a dark, stray curl from her forehead. The overcast sun made Aya’s brown skin glow with an almost gold hue, and her chestnut eyes were wide and bright, her smile making Georgia want to laugh, or spin her, or kiss her stupid.

She went with the latter, crowding her against the door, mouths crushing together. They only stopped when Aya started laughing, shoving at Georgia’s shoulder. “Get me inside first, at least!”

Georgia snorted a laugh against her neck, then pushed Aya aside to let them in.

It was supposed to be perfect.

*** 

It was not.

It took all of ten minutes to realise whatever that _smell_ was, it wasn’t coming out, no matter how they tried to air the house out, and whatever was wrong with the water heater was nothing they could fix. The fridge wasn’t on, or working, and showed no signs of it being something simple like a missed switch, and the linen cupboards were completely empty.

Aya lounged across the sofa under one of the open windows to combat the stench, and Georgia went outside to shout at her brother, using up all of her international minutes _gladly_ because what the _fuck_.

By the time she got done telling him everything, she was breathless and frustrated, and Gabriel wasn’t offering her any help. “I don’t know,” he said, sounding irritated. “I just told you we haven’t been there ins years and…”

“So who do I call, Gabe?” she demanded, her voice getting thick with frustration. “I’m supposed to be on my second honeymoon with my wife and this is _not_ how I envisioned it.”

“You should have come to San Juan. You know I have a guest house…”

“Gabriel!” she shouted, and he shut up. “Tell me what the fuck I’m supposed to be doing right now.”

“Just,” he said, and sighed. “Let me make some calls, okay? Why don’t you and Aya go get some food or something, take a walk by the beach, whatever. And as soon as I get an answer, I’ll call you back.”

“You had better. Revenge will be served ice cold, when you least expect it if this fucks everything up for us.” Then she hung up and only felt a little guilty for threatening her brother.

Mostly she was tired, and she didn’t want to drag Aya to some restaurant, or even to the beach right now. What she’d really wanted to do was throw Aya in bed and go down on her until neither of them could breath, then sleep til morning.

That, obviously, wasn’t going to happen.

She trudged inside and flopped on the sofa next to her wife, grabbing her hand and twisting the ring on her finger absently. “So…”

“Let me guess. He’s going to try and fix it, but we’re probably screwed?” Aya offered.

Georgia rolled her eyes. “Let’s just say I’m going to hope for the best, because we deserve it.”

“If you say so,” Aya said, sounding only a little dubious.

Georgia sighed, then in spite of the smell and everything else gone wrong, she laid out flat, and pulled Aya with her. Cupping her face, she nuzzled her nose against Aya’s cheek. “Querida,” she whispered, then kissed her. It was a soft, slow thing, drawing it out just the way she knew Aya liked it. Her hands travelled down the back of her neck, down her spine, then against her sides, gripping her by the hips.

Aya pushed down against her as Georgia slipped a knee between her thighs, pushing up. “Ah,” she groaned.

Georgia smiled against Aya’s mouth, catching her moan on her tongue before pulling away. “Yes?” she asked, as one hand snaked under the hem of her shirt.

“Yes,” Aya hissed back.

After a moment, she flipped Aya onto her back, and went for the button on her jeans. Although it wasn’t perfect, no one said she couldn’t at least give Brighton a proper welcome.

*** 

When they were finished, a cursory clean-up in the bathroom with cold water and a flannel, the pair linked fingers and decided a walk might be good for them. GPS said there were a small string of restaurants nearby, so they followed the path, and soon enough came to a small row of shops.

“Oh!” Aya said, tugging on Georgia’s wrist. “Curry. Oh my god, I need it.”

Georgia rolled her eyes at her wife’s enthusiasm, but didn’t protest as Aya dragged her into the small shop. They ended up ordering take-away, and took it to a small bench that wasn’t far off from the water. Since it was still technically off-season, the place wasn’t too crowded, but Georgia had heard at least seven different languages from passers-by before they even sat.

It was nice though. Late afternoon was creeping up on them, and the breeze was mild and soft on her skin. She delighted in watching Aya’s face as she ate, exclaiming quietly over the taste of the masala sauce, and the naan. The way her eyes closed in pleasure at her first sip of the lassi, and her vow of coming back, “every chance we get. This place is amazing.”

Everything had been sort of a disaster, and yet it felt oddly perfect.

*** 

Nearly two hours later, and they were bundled in thick sweaters and perusing the supermarket because Gabriel had come up with exactly nothing to help them out. It was now a choice between finding a possible hotel nearby, or trying to muscle through the cottage with that awful smell, no hot water, and no ability to store food.

“I don’t…” Aya picked up a box of dry pasta, stared at it, and put it back. “I don’t know what we should do. It wasn’t supposed to be this hard.”

Georgia’s stomach dropped and she reached out, tugging Aya closer. They weren’t alone in the aisle at the moment, but the only other person was a tall, thin man who was looking at different tomato sauces nearby. “I’m sorry. I wanted this to be nice and we can…I’m sure somewhere near by has rooms, okay? We’ll find something.”

“I am so sorry,” came a deep voice, and Georgia’s gaze snapped over as she realised it was the man speaking. Her eyebrows shot up as he turned toward them. “I couldn’t help overhearing and I…this is going to sound mad, but I swear I’m not. I’m in the process of opening up a B&B and I have…I’m not official but I have rooms. If you’d…I mean, I’m not far and…”

Georgia looked over at Aya who was regarding the man with vague curiosity. “So you like…live alone or…?”

“Oh. No,” he said, then shrugged. “I mean yes? I mean sort of.” He dragged a hand down his face. “I’m sorry. My name’s Yosef, by the way.” He extended his hand, and exchanged two quick shakes with the pair of them. “My wife works at my son’s school, and boards there during the school year. My daughter comes and goes, but she’s in Uni at King’s right now, so she’s only home on weekends. So technically it’s me alone. I swear I’m not usually this inept with words.”

Georgia couldn’t help a laugh, and though it was weird, and under any other circumstances she’d probably write this guy off as some type of predator, something about him was just…honest. She bit her lip, then said, “Where’s your place?”

He scrambled in his pockets, and produced a folded up bit of paper with something written on the inside, and a small pen which he used to write an address. “Here. You can…if you want to come by, check it out? I’ll be sorted with my afternoon in about an hour?”

Georgia slipped the paper into her pocket and nodded. “Thanks. I’m Georgia, by the way, and this is my wife Aya.” She gave him a moment, a challenge in a way, to see if he flinched. He didn’t. He just offered his hand again, and she shook it with a tiny laugh. 

“Maybe see you soon, then,” he replied, and carried on with his shopping.

Georgia looked at Aya who was wearing a pinched, trying not to laugh face, and they both escaped out of the shop without buying anything, and collapsed into a fit of giggles. “What the hell?” Aya demanded. “Did that seriously just happen?”

Georgia shrugged. “I…guess it did. That was…strange, right? Or am I just…?”

“No,” Aya said with a breath. “No, it was strange. But weirdly I think it might be worth checking out? I mean, it could be legit.”

“I’ve done worse,” Georgia mused. “I’ve probably been almost craigslist murdered a dozen times in college so…” She dug the paper out of her pocket, and they decided to head back to the cottage. She put the address into her GPS, and it actually wasn’t far. About a fifteen minute walk, which would be doable, even with their luggage. She turned it over to the other writing, and frowned. “What’s that? Arabic?”

Aya grabbed it, humming. “Hebrew. I can’t read it, but…” She shrugged, then slipped the note into her pocket. “Are we really doing this?”

“Well,” Georgia said with a sigh as they reached the front door. She grimaced at the smell as they stepped inside, and she shut the door behind them. “I mean, I could kick his ass, easy. So if he tries anything…”

“Let’s go over and get the vibe from it,” Aya said, toeing off her shoes and flopping on the couch. “Frankly a night without this smell is almost worth a near murder.”

Georgia laughed again, putting one knee on either side of her hip, straddling her waist, then leant in to kiss her. “Well anyway, I’ll protect you.”

“My hero,” Aya said, a little breathy, then tugged her wife down for another kiss.

*** 

The place turned out to be surprisingly nice. They met Yosef at the front door, and he showed them round the place. It was a little in disarray as apparently he was moving his family’s things from the main house to the small cottage in the back, but he had two bedrooms set up for guests, and there was a desk with a laptop and a bell, trying to masquerade as a proper hotel check-in.

“So this is it,” he said, waving his hand toward the living room. “Nothing’s off limits, really, and um…” He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Does it sound a bit mad if I say I’m sort of using the pair of you as a focus group?”

“Listen,” Aya said, patting him on the arm, “we’re supposed to be on our second honeymoon, and my ridiculous brother in law set us up in a cottage where I swear something has _died_ in the walls, has no hot water, and none of the appliances work. So right now, this is like paradise. We’re more than happy to be your focus group.”

“And pay you for the stay,” Georgia added, as Yosef had already declined taking her credit card. “You’re not going to get far if you don’t charge your guests.”

“You’re doing me a favour,” he started to protest, then held up a hand. “Listen, how about you stay for free—call it a belated wedding gift,” and he grinned when Georgia scoffed. “And to pay me back, you can maybe recommend this place to a few people? If I send you the website. Erm…once it’s up and running.”

Georgia laughed. “You know what? That’s fair. Because I happen to be the general manager of a professional Hockey Team and my players are both rich, and love to travel. And they have friends and family. So we can call it a deal.”

Yosef beamed at her. “Fantastic. I really think this is going to be good. Don’t forget to be brutally honest after your stay, yeah? So I know exactly what to improve.”

“Well our bar is set a little low,” Aya admitted, “but we’ll do our best.”

*** 

They had sandwiches for dinner, then showered, then crawled into the surprisingly comfortable bed which was sat under a small window. It was dark, and there was a storm blowing in which made Georgia feel cosy with the heavy duvet over them, and Aya curled next to her.

On her side, Georgia, ran her fingers through Aya’s curls, which were wet and soft, lying over her shoulder. “Better?” she asked.

Aya laughed. “Look, I mean that wasn’t ideal, but you could have booked us a dumpster and I’d find some way to think of it as romantic.”

Georgia snorted, letting her hand ghost down Aya’s arm. Her thumb toyed with the slightly frayed edge of Aya’s estrogen patch, then down to her waist where she dug her fingers lightly into her skin. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Mm,” Aya said, and pushed in for a kiss. “But you love me. You love me so much.”

Georgia laughed rolling Aya onto her back, straddling her. Aya’s skin heated up instantly, and she squirmed under Georgia, hands, groaning when their mouths met, when their tongues brushed together, lips soft and pliant. “I do love you,” Georgia said after a long moment. Her hand brushed up under Aya’s shirt, cupping her small breast in the palm of her hand. Her thumb brushed over a nipple, smiling when Aya sucked in a breath. “I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you.”

“Yeah?” Aya asked, and shifted her hips up again. “Prove it?”

Georgia smiled wickedly before her hand dove under the waistband of Aya’s pyjama bottoms. “Gladly.”

*** 

They slept well, and woke to the sound of rain hurtling against the glass. Georgia let out a yawn, burying it in the back of Aya’s head as she tucked her wife’s back closer to her front. They were still naked, but neither of them particularly roused in the sleepy morning.

Georgia kissed the back of Aya’s shoulder and hooked her chin over it. “Day in?”

Aya nodded. “I think so. I mean, I know the world is waiting out there, and I know work and everything else is when we come home but…sometimes it’s nice to forget, you know?”

“I know,” Georgia said quietly. “I’m not ready to think about the rest of them just yet. I’m happy to do this for a while.”

Aya breathed out, a smile in her tone when she said, “Good,” and wrapped herself up closer to Georgia.

Their eyes closed again, and they let themselves exist in the soft moment of their second honeymoon morning.

*** 

Georgia used to wonder if she’d ever come back from holiday feeling refreshed. She was pretty sure that idea was a myth, but there was an ease in her tension as she sat back in her office chair and glanced at the hoard of emails that needed answering.

Things hadn’t completely fallen apart in her absence. She’d only been gone four days, and she figured it would take at least six for her team to get into some serious shit. But she had a meeting with Jack that morning, and she didn’t think it was any good.

She reached for her coffee, and watched as the light from her desk caught on her wedding band. She twisted it absently for a moment, letting her mind wander. It flickered through memories of meeting Aya, of falling in love, of their wedding and their life. Of just days ago splashing into the freezing sea and laughing harder than she’d laughed in years.

She supposed that was it, really. It wasn’t that there was less stress, but knowing what waited for her made shouldering that stress just a little bit easier.

She grinned into her coffee, and there was no hesitation in her voice when she called out, “Come in,” to the knock at the door.

Jack appeared, dark circles under his eyes, a little tremble to his hands. She’d seem him in worse states, but from what she could tell, things were not getting better. He hesitated, shut the door, then eased into the chair across from her.

“How was the vacation?” he asked.

She smiled at the Canadian politeness. “It was great. I’m guessing your week wasn’t as stellar?”

Jack sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. “It’s over. With…with Parse. I…there’s no point in trying to draw this out any longer.”

Georgia bit her lip, then nodded. “What do you need?”

“Time off,” Jack said, then before she could bring up playoffs and potential fines for missing games and practise, he said, “In the summer, I mean. Not now. But um…I need…my therapist said I need to tell you when I need a mental health break. And I do.”

She was not surprised, and that showed on her face, she supposed, because he looked more relaxed when he realised she wasn’t going to question him. “Then take it. Jack, you’re a damn asset to this team and I don’t know what we’d do without you. So if not losing you means you need to get away for a couple weeks when the season ends…”

He nodded, breathing out a sigh. “Yeah. I…I need to go somewhere new, I think. Away from my parents and…everything. Something unfamiliar.”

That was unlike him. Jack lived by routine, but it also made a lot of sense, and she bit back heaping praise on hi because she didn’t think it would help. But she did feel it—proud. Proud of how far he’d come in her organisation, and proud to know he felt safe enough to admit when he needed the help.

She looked at him carefully, then reached into her desk for a small card with a funny little font, and the address of a B&B printed across the top. “Now, you can go wherever you want, but I have an idea that might not be life changing, but I think it could make your future a little brighter.” She slid the card across to him. “Just as a thought.”

Jack took it, read the font, then slipped it into his pocket before he smiled at her. “Thanks, George. I’ll definitely keep it in mind.”


End file.
